This invention relates to purification of polypeptides from feline T-cell lymphotropic lentivirus (FIV).
FIV is a retrovirus originally isolated from cats which exhibit an AIDS-like syndrome. Pederson et al., 235 Science 790, 1987. The virus belongs to the same group as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the causative agent of human AIDS. Pederson et al., describe detection of antibody to FIV by an immunofluorescent assay, and by Western blots, using virus purified by centrifugation on sucrose gradients in Tris base, pH 7.4, containing 0.1M NaCl and 1 mM EDTA. A few protein bands were detected and, although antigenic comparison was not made, the positions of these bands were tentatively said to correspond to the major core protein, p24 the gag precursor protein, p55, and the endonuclease protein, p32, of, HIV.
Pederson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,753 entitled "Feline T-Lymphotropic Lentivirus" (which is not admitted to be prior art to the present application) describes the results presented by Padarson et al., supra, and states that Western blotting of FIV infected cell lysates yielded major protein bands at approximately 22-26 kD, usually about 24 kD; 50-60 kD, usually about 55 kD; and 28-36 kD, usually about 32 kD.